


A Night In

by Goldstone_Wolf



Series: Aftermath [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Disney Movies, Don't Get Me Wrong I Like Beyonce, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Food mentions, Frosting, Good Theo Raeken, Homophobia, I can't tell which one I'm sorry, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Now for non TWs, Pack Bonding, Pack Mom Stiles Stilinski, Panic Attacks, Stiles and Theo have a Moment, but she didn't really fit for Nala, movies - Freeform, some minor religious discussion, tws for:
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24016756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldstone_Wolf/pseuds/Goldstone_Wolf
Summary: After a fairly difficult battle with a monster Stiles doesn’t even know how to describe, he and the Pack spend the night at the McCalls’. With the new addition of Theo, things are…strange, to say the least.In other words, Theo is not used to having a family, let alone a Pack. It’s about time they all stepped up to help him, even if it’s just a movie night.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken, The Relationships are Kind of Background
Series: Aftermath [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1727239
Comments: 1
Kudos: 131





	A Night In

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally going to be Sterek fluff, but considering what I’m going to end up doing to the whole Pack over the next several days (if you want a hint, let’s go with…Artemis), this is something well deserved. TWs are in the tags, because there is some discussion of past angst and…well, if you want to know, just check out my series “I Must Be Good For Something” for context. I am aware not everyone likes dealing with faith and faith-related stuff, but the idea of grace is something I think Theo needs in his life. If you don’t like that, then you don’t have to read it. It’s fanfiction, not canon, so it doesn’t matter what I write unless it’s about Legends of the Sword or one of my actual series (yes, I write books, it’s mentioned in my bio). I don’t mean to be offensive, but being someone who’s religious and LGBTQ+ means that I fit in this weird double minority where people I’ve known all my life hate me and others I could make a relationship with say I need to abandon part of who I am. I’m sick of that, but I’m not going to change who I am.  
> Now that the little rant’s over (sorry for blowing up like that, it’s not directed towards anyone not in my actual, non-Internet life), let’s get into the fic. This takes place not too long after the first fic in the “Aftermath” series.

“What the heck is _that_?”

Stiles straightened up and looked into the living room, where Theo was squinting at a mug that Liam had set in front of him. The mug itself was mostly a joke from when everyone decided that Stiles wasn’t so much a drama queen as he was a “drama llama” (which coincided with him getting turned _into_ a llama by a witch they had unfortunately managed to piss off). It was a cyan blue, with a brown llama wearing a red Santa hat and scarf as well as glasses, with flowy script saying “Fa La Llama” on it. Frowning with a quizzical smile, Stiles tilted his head and asked, “Are you asking about what animal it is or what’s in the mug?”

“What’s in the mug? I know where this came from—I helped Liam buy it.” _Of course you did._ Stiles smiled at him, then glanced back at the clock. He and Derek had arrived early at the McCalls’ house to set up for the Pack night while the others cleaned off. Jenna, David, Liam, and Theo had appeared not long later, which was a bit of a surprise considering Jenna usually forced her boys into being thoroughly checked over by her husband.

The clock now read 6:30, and they had only gotten home and cleaned up about twenty-five minutes before…so the Pack was about fifteen minutes from being there. “Well, Theo, it’s hot chocolate. Please tell me you had that.”

“Wait, _that’s_ hot chocolate?” When he glanced over, Theo was staring down at the cup with slightly wide eyes. It was almost comical.

“Yeah?”

“Man, I haven’t had this since I was, like, _eight._ ”

“Now _that_ is just _tragic._ ” Stiles decided not to bring up the fact that Theo hadn’t gone with the Dread Doctors until he was nine. While he knew Theo wasn’t fragile—the…event with the hunters and ARCHER simply proved that—he wasn’t about to bring up whatever past trauma came from Theo’s past. Even before the Dread Doctors, it wasn’t good, according to Melissa. When asked, Noah mentioned going to the Raeken household a few times on some calls, but never said what happened and always looked sad after bringing it up.

“Ah, what can you do?” Picking the mug up, Theo took a sip and then winced, “Aw, crap!”

For a few seconds, Stiles was more shocked at the lack of strong language than anything else. “Burnt your tongue?”

“Yeah. Ow, forgot that.” Laughing, Theo rolled his eyes and added, “A long time ago, we went on a flight somewhere. I think to Colorado. Anyways, I thought using a straw with hot chocolate would be a good idea.” When Stiles winced sympathetically, the chimera laughed. “Yeah, little me was an idiot. With a lot of things, actually.”

A small silence fell between them. Being someone who couldn’t _stand_ silence, Stiles cleared his throat. “Well, do you want to help me with making some of the food? I might even let you steal some cookie dough.”

Laughing, Theo got up and limped over to him. As he stepped into the kitchen, one of his legs wobbled a little bit, forcing him to lean on the counter with a pained expression. It was a stark reminder that, even with his chimera healing, walking was going to be difficult for a little while.

Theo must have caught the look Stiles was giving him, because he frowned, “Come on, I might be wounded but I’m not pathetic. Don’t look at me like that, Stilinski.” _And there’s the old Theo we all know and used to hate._ Putting a hand on Theo’s shoulder, Stiles walked over to where some bananas and strawberries were waiting. “What do you need me to?”

“Well…do you mind setting out some of the paper plates?” Stiles indicated the pile. They had learned the hard way long ago why _not_ to use actual plates with a pack of werewolves. And chimeras. And whatever else they might have had with them.

Theo mumbled something in the affirmative and went over, grabbing the plates and the bags of plastic silverware Stiles had also bought earlier. “So…how was church Sunday?” He finally asked after a little bit, and Stiles snorted.

“Don’t know. Dad went. I didn’t.”

“What? Don’t like the people there?”

“Got sick of people talking about me behind my back.” Chopping the bananas into the bowl, Stiles made a face. “You think you know someone, and then they suddenly say something really stupid and homophobic and you wonder how you let them walk all over you.”

“Huh. What happened?” Theo glanced over at him, leaning on the dining room table. Shrugging, Stiles started in on the strawberries.

“This girl, Chantalle, and I were really good friends—we met when I was in the second grade. Anyways, we were in the middle of youth group one night, when all of a sudden the speaker brings up this question. He asked what we would do if we were invited to a gay wedding.” Theo audibly winced, probably knowing the lines of where this story was going. “So, keep in mind I’ve known Chantalle for _years_ , she was a senior when I was a sophomore. So little freshman me was sitting there in the chairs, and all of a sudden everyone doesn’t want to talk. Like, sure, they weren’t _bad,_ but usually there’s a little chatter. And it was dead silent in there. And this other girl who I grew up with—let’s just call her Patricia—she was in the same grade as me and everything, said she just wouldn’t go to the wedding at all. Or if she did, she would show up to the reception and say, ‘I don’t agree with you, but I love you’.”

“Yeesh, sounds awful. Did you leave after that?”

“No, I stuck around for a while.”

“Why? I would have just left.”

“My mom liked going there.” Another silence fell, and Stiles focused more on cutting strawberries than whatever expression Theo was making. He was pretty sure the chimera didn’t like seeming vulnerable, either. “But what Patricia said wasn’t even _close_ to what Chantalle said.”

“Oh, no.”

“Yeah. She was all,” he made a gesture with the knife, pitching his voice up, “’I would go to the wedding…until I felt like I would throw up’.”

“No!” The way Theo said it almost made Stiles feel like he was having a normal conversation with a normal friend. Like they hadn’t spent years of their lives fighting for them, like they were two normal guys and not a chimera and the boy who ran with the wolves.

“Yeah. I went and had a panic attack outside, but no one came and checked on me. Scott couldn’t go that night, Melissa had to take a couple extra shifts.”

“That sucks, man.”

“Ah, it’s in the past.” Making a face, he added, “Some of my school friends want me to go to their college group with them. Apparently, they’re super accepting, but I’m not sure what that means by that.”

“Which one?” Stiles said the name, and Theo grinned, “Oh, yeah, they’re accepting alright. The youth pastor’s married to a man.”

“Huh. So, what’s your church horror story? If you don’t mind sharing—oh, and can you set the salad out?”

“Sure.” Grabbing the bowl, Theo turned and set it down on the McCalls’ table. At the moment, Scott and Alec and Melissa were with Derek grabbing some extra snacks and sodas before the Pack came. Just in case. “It wasn’t as bad as yours, I guess. Some old lady called me a pervert and said that I’m going to hell. The usual.”

“I’m sorry, that sucks.”

“Eh, what was I going to do? Punch an old lady?” Frowning, Theo glanced to the side. “Actually, that sounds exactly like what Old Theo would do.”

“But you’re not Old Theo. You’re just Theo.” Laughing, Stiles added, “Hey, maybe I should drag you and Liam along to that college group.”

“Nah, it’s on Fridays. That’s date night.”

“So you two _are_ dating?” Theo flushed immediately, burying his face in his arms, and Stiles burst out laughing. “Hey, I won’t tell if you won’t. But the Pack’s going to figure it out eventually, if they haven’t already.” Pausing, he mused, “Except for Scott.”

“Except for Scott.”

+++

After eating, everyone piled into the living room for movies.

Theo seemed significantly uncomfortable with all the contact, although Stiles couldn’t tell if it was touch starvation or nerves. Possibly both, considering he was sitting next to Malia. Ever since the first Pack meeting since ARCHER, the pair had an…awkward relationship, to say the least. According to Liam, the pair had actually hugged.

Malia.

Had _hugged_ someone.

Malia had _hugged Theo Raeken._

_Theo._

Now, the young man was sitting practically ramrod straight (which was ironic, Stiles was pretty sure he was pansexual) between the werecoyote and Liam, hands on his knees. Mason and Corey were nearby, curled into each other and the couch. Everyone else was practically a pile of limbs, not that Stiles minded. Beacon Hills got cold sometimes, and tonight was no exception.

“Hey, Theo, you okay?” He asked, leaning back to look up at the chimera. They were in the middle of one of the best, non-cheesy and non-predictable horse movies of all time (aka _Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron_ ). Specifically, they were right at the part where Rain was showing Spirit around the village.

The chimera jumped at the sound and glanced down, smiling nervously. “I…haven’t seen this movie in a long while. Tara used to put it on all the time.”

Someone paused it, probably Scott or Isaac. “Do you want us to turn it off?”

“What? No, no, it’s fine. This was—it was actually one of the good memories I have from…” Shrugging, he tilted his head to the side and looked away. Liam touched his shoulder. “From then. My dad bought it for Tara, so she watched it all the time with me when we got home from school.” An odd look crossed his face, and Isaac leaned across several Pack members to touch his leg. The pair had certainly found a slight connection, even if it was from having a crappy parent. “I’m okay, I promise.”

“If you ever need to talk, Theo…that’s what Pack does.” Derek reminded softly, and Theo frowned a little bit. Immediately, Stiles guessed what he was thinking.

Clearing his throat, he asked, “Hey, who here has, at some point or other, ranted in a little sob circle with the Pack?” Everyone raised their hands, except for Theo and—“Derek, put your hand up.”

“I swear I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, just…” Theo traded off when Malia turned and whispered something to him. Stiles was close enough he could catch it, and he knew the others with supernatural hearing caught it, too.

“You don’t have to talk right now, but you reek of anxiety.” Theo’s cheeks flushed a little and he glanced down.

“It’s not about the movie.”

Apparently, that satisfied the living lie detectors in the room, and they all turned back to the movie. Afterwards, Scott wriggled out of the puppy pile (“That’s what they’re called, Derek! Deal with it!”) to put on another movie. When he got to the pile, though, he turned back and called, “Hey, Theo, do you have any suggestions? We have some Disney classics over here.”

Blinking and almost taken aback, Theo glanced at the others for a moment. “What—which ones?”

“Uh, _Treasure Planet, Atlantis: The Lost Empire,_ and _Mulan_. The first ones are sort of obscure.”

“They deserved more than they got!” Malia announced, earning a cheer from several of the others. Since the live remakes of some of the other classic Disney movies, it had been a hot topic in the Pack. Stiles had agreed—if Disney _really_ wanted to do good, then remaking movies like _Treasure Planet_ and _Atlantis_ that hadn’t gotten a lot of love could revamp them. Especially after the…disaster that was _The Lion King_ remake (as much as he loved Beyoncé, and as much as he loved her singing, he could barely hear Nala’s voice during “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and that was a travesty).

Even _more_ so of a hot topic, especially after watching _Spirit_ , was whether or not the Netflix series was really all that good. While Stiles liked the series himself, he thought it was cute, it _did_ go against the entire idea of the original movie. Sure, Spirit’s son was “free”, but he was tethered to a human being where the previous movie…it was better. (It was one of the few times where he said the movie was better).

“I…I guess _Atlantis_? I kind of remember that one.” Theo offered with a shrug, and Scott grinned at him before slipping the disc into the player. Under his breath, so soft his voice was barely a shade above a whisper, Theo turned to Liam and whispered, “Did I do the right thing?”

“Theo, there’s no ‘wrong thing’ here.” Liam pointed out, and for a split second Theo seemed a lot younger than he usually did. Which was saying something—sometimes, Stiles had to remind himself that the kid was only a year or so younger than he was. That none of them except for Derek were older than twenty.

To say it was a sobering thought, when not all of them had made it, was an understatement of the last six True Alphas.

Of course, everything was fine with the Pack. At least for a little while. _Atlantis_ was a good movie, they all liked it. On occasion, Lydia would comment something about the background (it was either binging Disney and Dreamworks or watching _The Notebook_ for the seven hundredth time, and they just couldn’t handle that anymore) and the style of the painting, or someone would crack a joke. Behind him, Stiles could feel Theo tense up every so often.

It wasn’t until they got to the part where the fire was that everything went…well, to hell.

Outside, something slammed shut—it had to just be a car door or a garbage can lid or something—but Theo nearly leapt out of his seat. Everyone glanced at him, and he ducked his head. After a few minutes, he got up, mumbling something about getting water. Which was fine, that wasn’t the problem.

A few moments later, there was a shattering sound, and Stiles jumped to his feet. “I’ll check on him.” He announced, ducking into the kitchen. Theo was crouched in front of the fridge, a broken glass at his feet. “Hey, Theo, everything okay?” He tried to keep his voice as quiet as possible, but the young man jumped and glanced at him before looking away.

“I—I’m sorry, it slipped out of my hands.” He mumbled, and Stiles went over and crouched next to him, using some paper towels to sweep the glass shards into a dustpan. This wasn’t the first time it had happened, and doubtlessly wouldn’t be the last.

When he noticed Theo was swallowing repeatedly, nervously, Stiles reached up and touched his shoulder, “Hey, it’s okay. This isn’t the first time we’ve broken a cup.” Ducking his head, he met Theo’s gaze. “Everything alright? Is it the movie?”

“I don’t—I don’t know. It’s just—something.” Theo coughed awkwardly, and Stiles glanced up to see Derek standing in the entryway. Indicating the glass, he helped Theo over to the cabinets where he could lean against the dishwasher. “This is stupid. Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine.”

“Hey, just breathe.” Stiles kept talking, going through a few quick breathing exercises to try and calm Theo down if he could, try to stave off whatever attack was coming. Someone went outside and then carelessly slammed the door, and he heard someone snap in the living room about being careful, but it just sent Theo grabbing for Stiles’ arms.

It was almost shocking how quiet he was, but Stiles suddenly wondered if there was a reason for that.

Pulling Theo as close as possible, he pushed the chimera’s face into his chest and they sat there for a while. Trying to be gentle, Stiles found himself rubbing circles in between the chimera’s shoulders, feeling him shake a little bit but otherwise do very little. When it finally seemed to be ebbing away, Stiles brushed the chimera’s bangs back and whispered, “Better now? Just a little?”

Theo shrugged, ducking his head. “That was embarrassing.”

“Ah, don’t drag yourself through the mud too much. We’ve all cried in the sob circles.” Theo shot him a look, and Stiles shrugged. “It builds character, Theo. Anyways, want some frosting?”

That earned him a laugh, albeit a quiet and confused one. “What?”

Stiles got up, grabbed some spoons, and pulled a small can of vanilla frosting from the fridge. Bringing it back, he popped the lid off, scooped some out, and handed Theo a spoon before holding the frosting out. “This’ll be our little secret. How about this—we’ll wait here for a little bit, just until you feel a little bit better, and then we’ll go rejoin the others. Sound good?”

Nodding, Theo took the frosting.

**Author's Note:**

> Stiles’ experience at the church youth group is based off real life events, unfortunately. Some differences have been made (the existence of a bi youth pastor in the area, the ability to leave, etc). Theo’s has also been changed.  
> Theo’s reaction to the car door slamming might have been a bit odd, I guess. Other than a person who used to walk all over me (figuratively and literally), I’ve never actually been in an abusive situation so I don’t know if that’s the right reaction. Part of it draws from Isaac’s reactions on the show, although I am aware that not all people react the same way to trauma. The panic attack is based off a few that I’ve had in the past couple years (at this point, I’ve lost count of how many). If it’s actually an anxiety attack, I can’t tell at this point so let me know if I made a mistake and I’ll fix it.  
> Anyways, I’m tired, but I still have two episodes of Season 4 to finish and then I move onto Season 5a. Hope y’all have a nice night, comment or kudos if you want. If you want to flame, all it’ll do is encourage me to keep writing so you’re kind of the one who loses there. Also, I just realised this is my thirtieth fic for the Archive (and pretty much anywhere, honestly).  
> See you next fic.


End file.
